Vincent Kompany believes Manchester City have to take six points out of six against CSKA Moscow to keep their hopes of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League alive.
The Premier League champions have only gained one point from their first two games in Europe this season, losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena, before drawing 1-1 with Roma at the Etihad Stadium.
Up next, they have back-to-back matches with CSKA, who they beat home and away last season, before finishing the group with a home game against Bayern and a trip to the Stadio Olimpico to face Roma.
Bayern and Roma currently occupy the top two positions in Group E, but Kompany told reporters: "It could go any way really.
"Roma have to play Bayern now and one of the teams will lose points, if my maths is correct. And that will probably leave us with an opportunity to get closer again.
"We really hope we can get the six points against Moscow then go into those last two games. We have to win both Moscow games, it's safe to say that. But doing so will not just open up the door for second place, but first place as well. It's going to be close.
"I don't think you can really aim for second place, but if you get into contention to go into the next round, I think you will be very close to first. It's that kind of group."
City qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time last season, but otherwise their results in the competition have been disappointing.
And Kompany concedes they have to improve, adding: "I recognise we can be better. We have to take it on board, go to the next game and make sure we are better.
"It's clear we are capable of being better, but I'm not going to beat myself up about it. We have to make sure we learn something from this, and we owe a better performance in the next game."